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 Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 2:45 pm
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:05 pm
Brutus was only beginning to get used to this whole... arrangement. There wasn't as much fighting any more, he was beginning to resign, learn, if you will. He had grown tenfold since Grauen had taken him in, bigger and stronger than even he had expected to become, and he wasn't done yet. And though the struggling was dwindling, he was still convinced that he would get away from here one day and find his sister. It just wasn't the right time yet. She still had too good a hold on him. But he had not given up on his family. He would find them one day. Just not today.
Today was a search and recover day. Well, that's what he called them anyway. Sometimes they would just search and not find anything at all, but some days they would find something worthy of recovering. They had yet to find what Grauen was really looking for, but perhaps soon. Perhaps if she found what she was looking for he would be let go, so he truly tried, truly worked for her. Most days anyways.
Snap!
Head jerked up and his ears flicked all around as Brutus straightened up to listen. What was that? A slight rustling, but from where... Glancing back at Grauen, Brutus raised a brow in question of whether she had identified where it came from.
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:39 pm
Grauen walked along with her bodyguard in the softly fading light. The sun was still high up, but it was sinking and beginning to cast shadows over everything. How she loved shadows and everything they meant. One never knew what was lurking in a shadow...
Her bodyguard, a strong young stallion she'd named Brutus, was growing well. He was strong and mostly obedient. She liked that he listened to her. Today was one of those days that they were looking for the books--as always--but mostly she was looking for someone to feed off of. She needed to find someone...fearful.
She watched Brutus ears flicker and watch him respond to the sound. He looked at her with askance of what to do. Something...no, someone was near by. "Get it," she whispered.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:54 am
The snap had been the foal's back leg breaking a twig in two. It had unwittingly twitched in her sleep and caused the need for some rearranging. As she shifted her limbs a little the leaves and grass underneath her rustled. She had made herself a comfortable little nest in this abandoned den. The owner must not have finished digging it for it did not stretch very far at all, in fact it barely had enough room for the outstretched filly as it was, and her back pressed up against the hind wall.
Unknowing of the danger that stood just a few strides away, Avia mumbled, still in a state of dreams, "...no, no, I already told you... 's miiiiiiine...." her voice was small and soft. She had only begun that awkward lanky stage where her limbs seemed to stretch forever, and they didn't always listen. Another twitch resulted in a second snapped twig and a flutter of her eyes, but still she did not quite wake.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:03 am
Nodding silently to Grauen, Brutus moved forward silently, his short tail flicking lightly. Sometimes his floppy ears allowed him to hear better, but sometimes they just got in the way. It was why he had had a difficult time trying to identify where the rustling had come from, but the mumbling did not escape his notice.
He moved slowly in the failing light, careful not to step on any twigs or loose stones. Yes... It was just ... over... here.... Yes.
Stopping for a moment, he looked back at Grauen and beckoned her over. Looking back at what he had found, he took another step and then planted his hooves firmly but quietly on either side of this den. It opened up the same way he was facing, so he would go unnoticed unless the occupant got out of the den and turned entirely around. This was a good placement for him.
Looking back at Grauen once more he nodded her over, indicating that she should approach the den from the front and he would stay where he was, cutting off any means of escape and leaving the captive trapped either between them or in its den.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:13 am
Grauen moved across the opening of the little den, casting her long shadow over the filly. It was indeed a filly. Her legs were long and gangly in that awkward stage of growing. She was jerking and moving in her sleep. She was eager to see how the child would react to seeing her.
She could already sense the fear that would come when she opened her eyes. She let out a loud sound, "Hello, dear little one." her voice was sickly sweet. Should she take another foal in? Brutus was at a good age, useful and adult enough. Maybe she should gather herself a little army.
The foal didn't stir as quickly as she liked, "Up child!" Her voice was cutting and harsh, the shadows on her coat starting to stir.
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:44 am
The shadow that cast a sudden coldness over Avia made a shiver run through her entire body. Her eyes fluttered once more, consciousness drawing nearer as she imagined a female voice talking to her, calling to her, greeting her. A small smile broke her lips as she mumbled something unintelligible in reply, lifting her head a little. She wondered who this mare was...
She woke suddenly to the mare's demand, eyes snapping open to a startling level. In the diminishing light what she could see was a mass of darkness swirled and stared back at her with striking orange eyes. They were little flames staring into her soul, she felt. She couldn't tear her eyes away from them even though she itched to know what the swirling darkness around them was. There was movement there, shimmering lightly... what was it?
But as locked as she was in this gaze so was her body frozen in her upright sitting position. Head up, forelimbs stretched out with claws digging into the fluff beneath her and her hind end still within the den, tail carefully curled around something wrapped. Caught.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:50 am
Brutus stood silently watching the mare approach the den curiously. How would she want to approach this? There was a foal hidden beneath his hooves, so there were a few options here, but not as many as usual.
As he watched carefully, he had guessed right. Head-on Grauen pulled the filly into the meeting whether she wanted to be there or not. Well, not like she had a choice. She should have picked a better place to spend time, not somewhere this vulnerable. Or perhaps she should just not have fallen asleep quite so deeply. Perhaps she would learn from this mistake.... many didn't.
The shock, the fright, all of it familiar. This is exactly what Grauen had wanted. Well, this wasn't the thing she was looking for, but this was the usual recovery. They were in the business of fear. Something of a sustenance. Lowering his head, Brutus watched carefully, tensing in case he would need to cut the foal off if it chose to run.
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:21 am
Grauen watched the filly's terrified eyes widen, letting it light. Her coat begin to shift and dance, the wolves on it coming out to play their shadow games. "Sweetheart," she said sickeningly. "Don't you know that it's foolish to be out here in a place like this? All kinds of things are out at twilight and ready to gobble you up."
Her sinister smile took up most of her face. The filly was interesting, long claws and long tail. Black and white markings with a dash of red. She was certainly an interesting one--maybe something she should add to her collection if mommy and daddy dearest weren't nearby. "Are you alone, sweet one?" Her voice faintly remnant of burnt sugar.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:10 am
Stuck. All in one word, there was no other way to put it, Avia had gotten herself stuck.
The wall at her back no longer held any warmth, and the warm orange tones in front of her were not the warming sort either. This mare that had woken her up was quite the opposite. Avia shivered, unsure of what to do. Bolting forward would be no good, she'd just run into the mare. Perhaps if she bent her head just right she could... well, maybe land a good scratch really. Her horns weren't long enough yet to do any real damage. No, that wouldn't work. There had to be something else, anything else she could do than just sit here!
"Twilight already? Mama will be by to pick me up soon," Her voice was high, laced with panic. She gulped heavily, trying to steady her disobedient vocal chords. Maybe if she could keep the mare talking she could find an opportunity to bolt. Her eyes still wide, Avia managed to look away from the fire-eyes and realized that her body, suiting, was made up of shadows. Better to look at the fire-eyes.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:21 am
No bolting yet. Brutus was almost surprised. For a little one not to have fled at the first chance was unusual, but then again, there hadn't really been a chance. The filly had just woken up and had a mare twice her weight, at least, standing in front of presumably the only entrance to her den. Not exactly many options of escape there. Her best hope was if that den extended further underground, but Brutus found that very unlikely.
When the filly responded, shakily, to Grauen, Brutus could not help but laugh. A chortle, really, but the young stallion couldn't help it. Her lie was thin, a vain attempt to build up some sort of defense. Pulling his body weight forward without shifting his hooves, the draft threw a few words at the filly, "Learn to lie better, filly. Might save your skin one day. If you make it through the night."
He could be cold and heartless, so long as he didn't allow himself to have emotion during their outings. Out here by himself he would have cast the filly a warning and been on his way, but Grauen had other plans. This is prey to her, and it was his job to help her keep them reigned in. And so he kept his emotions tucked away, hidden, and tackled his task with a level head. He knew when a line had to be drawn, for he did not like to see death, and ultimately that defeated the purpose for Grauen also, since dead things can't feed her fear anymore. But until that line needed drawing, he was here to help her feed, and he wasn't here to be the nice guy.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:31 am
Grauen breathed in the succulent scent of fear. It tasted wonderful to her senses, filling. It gave her a heady feeling of delight, of power. "My, my little one...we are quite the terrible liar. We all know that mommy isn't coming for you, maybe mommy doesn't even care..."
She leaned a little closer to the filly, "You look like you'd make quite the pleasant feast. A little bony, but nothing a nice good toasting wouldn't do to the taste of your flesh." She laughed loudly, the wolves making menacing actions on her coat.
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:41 am
Just as she had gathered the composure to straighten out her voice a little there was a sound directly above her. The heavy sound made the filly jump, bumping her head on the ceiling of the den, and as she listened to the mare call her out on her lies, she dared to take a glance up.
Tilting her head back carefully, Avia just poked out of her den far enough that with the slightest turn of her eyes she could see past the lip of the den. A giant stood there, darkened by the shadows and menacing in his enormous stature alone. Her eyes once more threatened to jump right out of their sockets by how wide they had opened, and she quickly snapped her attention back at the mare when she leaned in closer.
The talk of eating her was more than she could handle, and the pale filly yelped as she bound forward a good distance. Her claws had dug deep into the dirt and allowed her to take a filly-size stride, but in her panic she had forgotten just why she had stayed in her den when she awoke when she heard a small thud behind her in the den. Gasping, the filly turned on the spot and leapt right back into her den, pushing her leather-wrapped possession back into the darkness of her 'nest' protectively. Right back to where she started.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:45 am
Brutus knew his frame alone could intimidate many a soquili, and he used that to his advantage. Such a simple thing, really: perspective. Standing over someone already makes them feel smaller, and then add the lengthening shadows and the dimming light... This was the perfect situation for an easy exploitation of his threatening size.
As he had expected, the hint at eating her made the filly bolt. As her tail left the den under his feet there was a dull thud, but even as he dropped his gaze from following the filly's movement downward, the filly had done an instant turn-around and had... willingly dived back into her confinement. Confused, Brutus tilted his head to the side and glanced over at Grauen to see if she had caught what exactly had made the noise, and then on top of that why this filly would be diving back in after it.
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:08 am
Grauen watched laughingly as the filly bolted, but her irritatation grew when Brutus, her pet, did not immediately sweep her up. It grew more still that the filly had fled back into her den...until...
Her eyes glinted at the object as the child pulled it closer to her. Had that been a flash of a book corner? Perhaps this child was more than she seemed...Perhaps those books were THE books. That is, if there were books at all.
She sniffed deeply, convinced that the smell was of ink and paper. She remembered her masters, her artisians the Grimms telling stories of such. She closed her eyes in a savouring moment. Yes, that had been the heavy thud of books--her books.
"Brutus, get her out now. Game's over." Her eyes danced like flames.
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